It’s
the
second
year
ever
they’ve
done
a
Songwriter
of
the
Year
category
at
the
Grammys,
and
Theron
Thomas
is
over
the
moon
about
his
nomination.
Not
only
that,
but
Thomas
is
the
only
black
nominee
in
the
category
this
year,
amidst
some
big
names
in
the
music
industry
including
Edgar
Barrera,
Shane
McAnally,
Jessie
Jo
Dillon,
Justin
Tranter.
Proud
to
be
Caribbean,
Thomas
hails
from
St.
Thomas
in
the
Virgin
Islands.
Nicknamed
Rock
City,
Thomas
is
one
half
of
the
musical
duo
of
the
same
name,
alongside
his
brother
Timo
Makaveli.
Together,
they
saw
huge
success
with
“Locked
Away”
featuring
Adam
Levine,
which
recently
hit
one
billion
views
on
Youtube
(and
soon
to
hit
a
billion
on
streaming).
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Fast
forward
to
today,
Thomas
has
played
a
role
some
of
this
generation’s
biggest
hits,
including
“All
My
Life”
for
Lil
Durk
and
J.
Cole,
“Cheatback”
for
Chlöe
and
Future,
“How
We
Roll”
for
Ciara
and
Chris
Brown,
“Man
Down”
for
Rihanna,
“We
Can’t
Stop”
for
Miley
Cyrus,
“I
Don’t
Mind”
for
Usher,
and
many
more.
But
his
greatest
accomplishment
to
date?
The
world’s
biggest
song
currently:
“Seven”
by
BTS’
Jungkook
featuring
Latto.
The
Source
spoke
with
Theron
Thomas
at
Westlake
Studios
in
Los
Angeles.
What
song
are
you
most
proud
of?
I
don’t
want
to
lie,
I’m
really
proud
of
all
of
them.
Right
now,
Jungkook
“Seven”
is
the
biggest
song
in
the
world.
I’ve
never
had
the
biggest
song
in
the
world.
I
was
in
Korea
in
October
and
November.
Wait,
this
is
the
biggest
song
here.
We’re
#1
in
Japan.
I’ve
had
songs
big
around
the
world,
“Locked
Away”
was
#1
in
30
countries.
It’s
insane.
But
this
one,
fastest
song
to
hit
a
billion
streams
in
history.
Really,
really
crazy
accomplishments.
I’m
enjoying
the
ride
because
at
one
point,
nobody
was
calling
me.
Nobody
cared
to
hear
my
ideas.
Nobody
said
“oh,
yeah,
let’s
ask
Theron
what
he
thinks.”
Now,
he’s
the
guy,
so
I’m
grateful.
I’ma
keep
going
as
long
as
they
keep
inviting
me.
,
How’d
the
song
come
about?
Andrew
Watt
called
me,
I
didn’t
even
know
Latto
was
getting
on
the
song.
I
wrote
the
song.
Because
I
did
“Big
Energy,”
everybody
thinks
I
did
Latto’s
part.
I
did
it
with
Jon
Bellion,
we
wrote
it
together.
But
it
started
with
me
in
my
basement
in
Atlanta.
Andrew
said
”Yo
man
I’m
working
on
Justin
Bieber.
I
got
this
beat,
this
beat
is
fire
bro.
You
gotta
send
me
those
beats.
How
many
times
do
people
tell
you
that?
Every
time,
but
it’s
good.
Having
an
artist
and
a
place
of
reference,
it
motivates
you.
Justin
Bieber
is
a
huge
star,
great
artist.
I’m
a
fan.
Bro,
I
gotta
bring
my
A
game
for
the
Biebs.
I
wrote
something,
Andrew
said
“it’s
not
that
good
bro.
Make
it
more
simple.”
My
youngest
son,
he’s
11
now
but
he
was
10
when
I
wrote
this
song.
He’s
sitting
on
my
lap.
Yo,
nothing’s
more
simple
than
the
days
of
a
week.
“Monday,
Tuesday,
Wednesday,
Thursday,
Friday,
Saturday…”
It’s
wild
to
me
when
songwriters
have
whole
concepts
for
a
song,
and
a
huge
artist
will
do
it.
By
the
way,
I
know
BTS.
I
didn’t
know
individually
the
artists.
They
called
me
like
“Yo,
Jungkook
is
cutting
your
song.”
Okay
cool,
I
don’t
know
who
that
is.
You
know
what
though?
I
pride
myself
in
being
like
that.
I
like
real
human
experience.
I
don’t
want
to
come
in
the
room
like
“omg,
this
is
Rihanna.
You
gotta
act
a
certain
way.”
You’re
a
person,
and
I’m
a
person.
What
do
you
want
to
do
today?
I
didn’t
know
who
he
was
until
two
weeks
before
the
record
came
out.
Because
I
met
with
the
A&R
from
Hyde,
she’s
like
“Jungkook,
he’s
from
BTS.”
Oh
that’s
crazy,
BTS
is
big.
I’m
so
grateful.
I’ve
never
met
Jungkook,
this
is
awesome.
They
call
me:
“Yo
Theron,
this
record
is
looking
like
it’s
gonna
really
have
an
impact
when
it
drop.
The
ideas
and
the
marketing.”
Well
that’s
good.
“About
Damn
Time”
by
Lizzo
was
my
first
Billboard
#1.
That’s
crazy.
Did
you
work
with
Lizzo?
Yes,
we
worked
with
Lizzo.
Then
I
did
“All
My
Life”
for
Lil
Durk.
I
love
that
song!
That
song’s
amazing,
shout
out
to
Dr.
Luke.
He’s
a
genius.
So
what’d
you
do
on
that
song?
I
did
the
chorus.
I
did
it
with
Dr.
Luke
and
a
couple
friends
of
mine.
It
was
a
blessing
because
it
debuted
at
#2.
Man,
I
wanted
to
debut
at
#1.
That’d
be
my
second
#1.
Jungkook
came
out,
it
debuted
at
#1.
What
the?!
What’s
going
on!
What’s
life
right
now?
I’m
so
happy
they
made
that
Songwriter
of
the
Year
category!
Yeah,
they
shining
a
light
on
songwriters.
It’s
a
long
time
coming
but
it’s
a
difficult
thing
because
some
people
feel
uncomfortable.
We’re
the
icky
necessary
evil.
The
artists
don’t
want
to
tell
nobody
that
it
was
his
idea.
It’s
weird,
but
it
is
the
business.
For
me,
I
pride
myself
on
—
the
name
of
my
company
is
Minding
Our
business.
If
you
ever
see
me
post
something,
I
never
say
what
I
do.
Because
I
produce
as
well.
I
produce,
I
write,
and
I
sing.
I
could
have
done
backgrounds.
If
I’m
a
part
of
a
song,
I
literally
say
“minding
our
business
forever.”
That’s
all
I
say.
Whatever
you
want
to
take
from
that.
Did
I
write
it?
Did
I
produce
it?
Did
I
sing
in
the
background?
You
say
whatever
you
want
to
say.
Artists
can’t
get
offended,
like
“you’re
going
around
town
telling
people…!”
Minding
our
business
forever.
That’s
all
I
say,
whatever
you
want
to
take
it
as.
I’m
a
producer,
writer,
vocalist,
vocal
producer.
You
don’t
know
what
I
did,
but
oh
okay.
Theron
had
something
to
do
with
that,
okay
cool.
You
can
take
it
like
that.
I
remember
when
they
had
the
songwriter
protests,
people
telling
me
how
terrible
songwriters
get
paid
unless
you’re
part
of
hit
records.
Was
there
a
point
where
you
were
struggling?
When
I
came
in
business
in
the
early
time,
yes
I
was
struggling
but
not
as
a
songwriter.
I
struggled
as
an
artist
and
when
songwriting
came,
we
started
making
money.
Struggling
songwriting
really,
really
came
because
of
streaming.
That’s
really
how
we
became
this
crazy
oh
man,
shit
is
a
bit
hard
right
now.
I’m
not
gon’
lie,
I
make
hits.
I’m
super
blessed.
I’ve
been
making
hits
probably
for
the
last
4
to
5
years.
I
mean,
I’ve
been
making
hits
longer
than
that.
But
for
the
past
four
or
five
years,
it’s
been
crazy,
it’s
like
an
avalanche
of
hits.
I
don’t
know
what’s
going
on.
God’s
playing
favorites,
and
I
appreciate
it
for
real.
You
must
be
a
good
person.
I
feel
like
good
people
deserve…
I
hate
being
the
self-proclaimed
good
guy,
because
I
do
believe
I’m
a
villain
in
somebody’s
story
somewhere.
I
try
my
best
to
be
my
best.
